Lisa walked through the house, feeling the soft plush of carpet under her bare feet. The texture of the carpet changed as she had passed from the hallway and into the living room. She stepped around the coffee table and tested the air. There was the soft, dusty scent from the furnace running, the obnoxious synthetic odor of the new couch, the hours-old smell of an eaten dinner, and the strong linger of Aunt Kelly's perfume leftover from an earlier visit. His aroma was there as well, not surprising since his scent was always in the house, but it was too flat for him to be in the room with her. The motion of it suggested he must be in the basement. She crossed the living room and the carpet changed into the hard, cold tile of the kitchen. Lisa reached ahead of her and felt the back rest of a chair. It was pushed under the table like it should be so she did not have to worry about stubbing her toe. He would never leave a chair out of place, but her aunt might, so it was best to be cautious. She ran her paw over the smooth granite counter as she walked through the kitchen, mindful to trail her fingers tentatively over the stove. It had been several years since she had burned herself, not to mention she was more aware of how to sense an active heat source without touching, but she still treated the stove with respect whenever she passed. Beyond the refrigerator she found the doorway leading to the stairwell. She opened it and took hold of the handrail before counting the eleven steps down. He was here. She could smell the bright scent of him and her whiskers felt the air move as he approached. She reached for him and called out the only word she could speak aloud with any confidence.
"Da?"
Lisa felt the large, strong paws of her father's grasp and she immediately broke down in tears. Her father quickly took her up in his arms and she clenched him around the neck in a tight embrace. She could feel the pad of his finger on her back, tracing a hasty communication.
"What's wrong?" Her father asked. She could feel the rumble of his chest as he spoke the words as well as signed them against her skin. Lisa was too upset to answer, only holding him tighter. Burying herself in the realness of his fur and basking in the smell of him as she wept. She could feel him carry her to the chair and sit down with her on his lap.
After a few moments she pushed herself away, putting her paws on his face. She traced the contours of his expression with her fingertips, and knew he was worried. He took one of her paws and put his own against it.
"What's wrong?" He signed to her again before putting a finger under her eye and dragging it down lightly. "Why cry?"
"Bad dream." Lisa signed back to him. "Mom was there." The presence of her mother had been in her dream so strongly that it was almost real. Her scent and unique vibration had all been there. The dream clung to her so passionately it was painful.
"Didn't want to wake." Lisa admitted.
Her father stroked her head and wiped the tears away with his thumbs. He ran his paws along the sides of her face and scratched under her floppy ears. After taking one of her paws and placing it over his heart and putting his other paw against her chest, he signed: "Miss her too."
Lisa ran her fingers over his mouth to touch the hot breath of his words. She preferred to sign against someone's skin as opposed to just doing it out in the air. Although she knew her father could perceive it when she waved her paws about, it just felt more real to be against him when she spoke. She knew she had his attention and could sense his reaction to the conversation. There were other people in her life; teachers, friends, relatives... but they were frustrating to talk to. Teachers wanted her to learn the common sign better, learn to write words on a notebook for people who did not sign or, even worse, to speak words with her mouth. Feel the air of your breath with your paw, use more breath, use less breath, make the buzzing in your throat, make it lighter, make it tighter, put your tongue forward, put your tongue back, make your mouth this shape, make your mouth that shape, open your mouth more, open your mouth less, etc, etc, etc. Her friend Naomi spoke common sign very well since she was deaf, but she was sighted so she wasn't proficient doing it tactilely, she was getting better though. Lisa's relatives knew sign ranging from marginal to not at all. Aunt Kelly and Grandma were okay. Grandpa was terrible, but he was always trying, which was more than she could say for any of her cousins. What they all had in common was their resistance to letting her speak against their body. This aversion to coming into her world completely prevented her from really knowing them like she knew her father. Like she used to know her mother.
Lisa's fingers combed his short chest fur. "Why naked?" She asked.
He took Lisa's paw and replied. "Not naked. Have pants. Put on shirt?"
Lisa leaned in and rested against him, feeling his body heat, heartbeat and taking in the scent radiating from him mixed in with his breath. So warm and familiar. It was late at night and he hadn't bathed since the day before. That was fine with her. Freshly bathed people always smelled like lies. Trying to wash away and cover up who they really were. There was a touch of pungent body odor about him that she found comforting and honest. It made his presence larger and more encompassing. It swam in her sinuses brilliantly, etching his presence as absolutely solid and real.
"No."
"Talk about dream?"
She wasn't sure how to feel about the dream. It had been painful and yet, so enticing. She had been distressed when she woke up to find it had only been a dream, but afraid to fall back asleep and risk the dream continuing where she left it. Still, the surreal atmosphere of the dream lingered, tormenting her with painful nostalgia.
"Not now."
"Okay."
"So late. Why awake?" Lisa wondered.
"Watching movie."
"What movie?"
"Strangers and Friends."
Lisa's tail swayed. "Kiss kiss movie?"
"Yes."
"Want to watch."
"Kiss kiss not for you." He told her. "Too young."
"I'm eleven!" She insisted with firm motions to make her annoyance clear. "Never let me watch. Please?"
There was a pause before he replied: "Okay."
Lisa settled in against her father with her head snuggled under his chin. He put one paw in her palm and the other against her back. She in turn put her other paw against his side. In this position they could communicate quickly and effectively in a way she was not able to do with anybody else using a language that only the two of them knew. One her family developed since before she understood that things outside of herself had their own existence with names attributed to them. She had learned most of what she knew sitting in this position on his lap. it was here that she had learned that her name is L-i-s-a, his name is F-r-a-n-k, and her mother's name was P-e-n-n-y. She learned that they were dalmatians, a specific breed of canine. Their fur was white with black spots. "White" and "black" were colors. Colors were textures everything had that could not be felt, they could only be seen. That she could not find her spots was something that frustrated her to the point of demanding that she be shown where they were. She also learned that the world was unimaginably huge. Much bigger than their house. Even way bigger than the park with the wide, flat fields of grass where there was no danger of tripping or collisions where her father let her run. If she started walking and never stopped to sleep or eat, it would still take over a year to go all the way around and come back to her home. So please don't sneak out the front door again! You scared your mother and I half to death!
Watching movies or television shows was the only time they still conversed with this "home language" anymore. Her father encouraged her to use the more standard sign language as often as possible, even though she did not care for it and it was slower to speak. She suspected her teachers advised him to do this so Lisa would be more sociable.
Her father touched her index finger. "M-a-u-r-e-e-n." He spelled, indicating the name of the main character. "Female tiger." Then he touched her middle finger. "G-r-a-n-t." A second character of importance. "Male lion." His paw on her back, along with various other small body cues would convey the tone, emotions, and reactions. He would build the scenes for her in a way that she could understand. He had already been watching the film he spent a minute to get her caught up on the plot. It was about a female on a business trip to Paris who meets a male who is also on a business trip.
"Handsome male?" Lisa asked.
"Daddy more handsome." Her father replied proudly. She could feel him laugh and could not help giggling with him.
"Yes." Lisa agreed.
"I start?" He suggested.
"Yes."
Interior - Hotel lobby - Evening Lisa's father tapped her index finger and started dialogue.
Maureen (angrily)
Why are you following me?
Grant (offended)
I'm not following you! It's just---
Maureen (still angry)
Oh, no, don't give me that! You tried to take my bag at the airport, and then you tried to take my cab.
Grant
If you would just---
Maureen
Then I saw you at the café, and now you show up at my hotel?
Grant impatiently reaches for Maureen's luggage. Maureen reacts, swinging the luggage at him, striking his head. Grant falls and luggage bursts open, covering him in clothes. On his head is a pair of male underwear with little anchors on them.
Interior - Hotel room
Grant is sitting on the bed and has ice wrapped in a towel pressed on his swollen eye. Maureen standing over him with worry.
Maureen (regretful)
I'm so, so sorry!
Grant (sullen)
It's nothing.
Maureen
I was just so stressed by the flight that I didn't realize I took the wrong bag!
Grant
It's nothing.
Maureen
I cannot believe I hit you!
Grant
That makes two of us.
Maureen
Please don't call the police or anything!
Grant
(Sigh) I'm not going to do that. I just needed my stuff back. I have a presentation in there that I've been working on for a month. Just let me take it and I'll be out of your fur.
Maureen
At least let me do something for you. I'll... I'll buy you dinner or... we'll at least get a coffee or something!
Grant
(Pauses) I appreciate the offer, but I have to tell you I'm married.
Maureen
(Taken aback) What? No! That's not what I meant! I'm married too!
Grant
(stands up) Look, let's just forget about this. It never happened, alright?
Maureen
At least let me pay for your cab fare.
Grant
There's no need, this is my hotel too. I'm one floor up.
The story continued with Maureen and Grant going their separate ways only to later discover that they had both been in Paris for related business at their respective companies, putting them in numerous meetings and events together. This resulted in several awkward and humorous interactions, not all of which Lisa understood. That was normal for her when experiencing a movie for the first time. Her father's ability to covey the action was not perfect and usually it took three or four "viewings" for her to grasp a film as well as she was able. Her favorite movies they've watched dozens of times together. She liked horror movies the best because they required pausing the film less for her father to convey at the same pace, plus she loved the visceral scares that her father was so good at transmitting. This one had some rather quick and witty dialogue and complicated scenes that slowed him down. She was still enjoying the movie even though it was not their normal fare.
After the rocky start, Maureen and Grant's relationship grew from bumbling to confidently friendly. Eventually sharing a dinner with a group of business relations that they both knew. A dinner that included wine, followed by conversation that included even more wine.
Interior - Hotel hallway
Elevator dings. Maureen and Grant stagger out. They are laughing and hanging on each other drunkenly. Maureen is carrying her shoes and Grant's tie is undone.
Grant
(laughing) ...and then Max steps off the edge and face-plants right into the pool!
Maureen
(laughing) Are you serious!
Grant
God as my witness!
Maureen
Oh, I would pay anything to have seen that. He's such an -censored-!
Grant
Hey... hey, hey I can't let you talk about Max like that. He's my very good friend... who... who also just happens to be an -censored-!
Maureen and Grant laugh until they're gasping. They stop in front of the door to Maureen's room. Maureen leans her back against the wall as she catches her breath.
Grant
Here we are. Room 225, just as promised.
Maureen
My hero.
(at this point things lead to kissing while backing into her room and pulling at each other's clothes)
Her father abruptly paused the story and Lisa could sense some tension in his body. She poked him in the side to get his attention. "Why stop?"
He was slow to respond, but he admitted: "Adult scene."
"Want to see." Lisa told him.
(Frank relents eventually, which leads to him getting an erection which Lisa notices since she's on his lap. She becomes curious about it. Her teachers have taught her a little bit about sex, but she's still very confused since it's difficult to grasp through sign language alone.)
"Don't understand... parts. Want to know." Lisa tells him.
(This is in relation to a penis.)
(That's it for now)",
"pools_count": 0,
"title": "Frank and Lisa (Sneak Peek)",
"deleted": "f",
"public": "t",
"mimetype": "application/msword",
"pagecount": "1",
"rating_id": "2",
"rating_name": "Adult",
"ratings": [
{
"content_tag_id": "4",
"name": "Sexual Themes",
"description": "Erotic imagery, sexual activity or arousal",
"rating_id": "2"
}
],
"submission_type_id": "12",
"type_name": "Writing - Document",
"guest_block": "f",
"friends_only": "f",
"comments_count": "0",
"views": "42"
}